Five of Joburg’s biggest service delivery departments are beset with allegations of financial misspending, huge losses, and accusations of fraud and corruption against their bosses.
Now, the DA has claimed that this is the result of the ANC’s job-for-pals policy.
In the past year alone, the Joburg metro police department’s chief was investigated for – and cleared of – misconduct, and Emergency Management Services head Dr Audrey Gule was suspended following allegations that she had pocketed city funds and wasted money on events and purchases.
Other affected departments are City Parks, Johannesburg Water, the Johannesburg Roads Agency and Pikitup.
This month, the Speaker’s office agreed to investigate the member of the mayoral committee for public safety, Matshidiso Mfikoe, following complaints of alleged corruption and misuse of council funds.
And City Parks is under investigation by the Hawks because of irregularities.
The Joburg ANC, however, has hit out at the DA, saying it was not fit to represent the people of Joburg.
Said ANC Joburg regional spokesman Jolidee Matongo: “We have noted a growing trend by the DA of attending Section 79 committee meetings to find what they think are newsworthy stories for the media.
“The DA is part of the Joburg metro council. It was at council meetings where reports were approved for the structures and the systems of administration in the city.
“Financial reports will be tabled at the next council meeting on March 29, and these will be discussed, and the DA will have an opportunity to raise issues.
“The DA knows very well that it can write to the executive to request clarity on issues raised in the report and that the executive is duty-bound, within the legal framework, to respond to such issues,” Matongo said.
PIKITUP
Alan Fuchs of the DA says:
*Joburg residents have not had their refuse collected regularly for the past month, and the situation is not likely to improve, because of legal problems being experienced with the renewal of fleet management contracts.
*This is because of poor fleet management.
*Pikitup has transitional contracts in place through which it can source vehicles. It has the option to order replacement vehicles, but has chosen not to do.
*Pikitup’s acting managing director, Lawrence Boya, was arrested last month on charges of fraud and corruption for an alleged crime that took place between 2007 and 2009 while he was superintendent-general in the Eastern Cape health department. He remains at his post but should be suspended, Fuchs believes.
*Former managing director Zami Nkosi resigned after a protracted strike during which senior officials were accused of corruption by union members.
*Pikitup is bankrupt. At the end of June 2011 the company was “hopelessly” insolvent. Its liabilities exceeded its assets by R353 million and it had an accumulated deficit of R363m. By December last year, the deficit had increased to R401m.
*The company is subsidised by the council and, therefore, losses or any liabilities will be made good by the council and ratepayers.
Spokesman Pansy Oyedele says:
*Pikitup’s deficit growth of R401m by December 31 last year is largely attributed to fleet costs.
*The company is “adequately subordinated by the city”, and to say Pikitup is in crisis “is not entirely correct”.
*The insolvency results from non-revenue-generating activities that Pikitup is expected to carry, out such as clearing of more than 2 000 illegal dumping spots, the clearing of 119 informal settlements, street cleaning and providing 42 garden waste services.
*Pikitup management has launched a business remodelling exercise.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency
The JRA recently announced that it would be unbundling Metrobus to form four new companies to improve public transport.
But the DA’s Nico de Jager claims:
*It has a huge net loss as of the end of last month of R20m, with four months to go till the end of financial year, so the entity is likely to be insolvent before that can be done.
*This is the result of the doubling-up of staff in the finance department, hiring of consultants at R8 000 a day to replace staff who are unable to do work, and mechanical problems.
Metrobus acting managing director Lawrence Maqekoane said:
*Additional staff have been hired on a contract basis because existing staff were not properly qualified for the job and have now been sent on a three-year training course. The interviewing processes were adequate and have now been tightened up, with stringent screening of applicants.
*Consultants have been hired to do the work to keep the entity operational.
*There were many mechanical problems with buses overheating because they were not designed for South African conditions, costing the company a lot of money.
Johannesburg Water (JW)
The DA’s Ralf Bittkau says:
*JW used to be a profitable and well-run outfit, but the financial results for the second quarter of last year show that a projected budget surplus of R187m ended up as a deficit of R122m.
*Besides the probability of bankruptcy, the continued and speedy fall into disrepair of the existing infrastructure will cause an eventual collapse of the entire system.
JW spokesman Baldwin Matsimela says:
*JW is doing “extremely well under the circumstances and there is no need to start preparing its obituary, including creating unnecessary panic among the city’s residents”.
*Many problems are billing-related, but JW has signed a service-level agreement with the council for the management of revenue.
*JW continues to do well in other areas of the business such as water-quality compliance, reduction of operational costs at the waste water treatment works, and in the training of employees. - The Star